County Dems rally against health bill
The Democratic Party of Garland County aired its concerns about a House bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act during a public rally Saturday at its headquarters building.
The “Healthcare Not Wealthcare” rally sought to both shed light on the bill passed by the House earlier this month, and to call upon U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-District 4, to preserve as much of the ACA as possible.
The rally drew dozens of local Democrats to listen to health professionals, residents who are positively affected by the Affordable Care Act, and a community activist speak on the topic.
“We have a lot of individuals in the community who are extremely concerned, that are fearful,” county Chairman Hayden Shamel said
prior to the event.
The bill to repeal and replace the ACA, which the House passed May 4, would reduce federal deficits by $337 billion by 2026, but would also increase the number of residents without health insurance by 24 million during that time, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Dr. Randy Hill, who was one of the featured speakers at the rally, said that with the repeal and replacement of the ACA, subsidies that allow residents to receive coverage from the act would be done away with.
When asked whether the subsidies that are already in place with the ACA are sufficient for residents who are using the act to receive coverage, Dr. Mike Colgrove, who also spoke at the rally, acknowledge that the ACA is not perfect in that way.
“There is a group of people right now that falls through the cracks — the ones that don’t qualify for Medicaid, but don’t have the take-home income, the disposable income, even with the subsidies, to get a plan that’s workable for them,” Colgrove said.
Colgrove said that he believes the reason for the state of such subsidies is because the U.S. government does not put enough money toward health care.
When asked about the rise in insurance premiums, Colgrove told The Sentinel-Record that it is a common misconception that the ACA has caused the rise in premiums from private insurance providers. He said that the passing of the ACA did away with some of the competition in the insurance market, and that because of the now-limited number of insurance companies, the ones left can charge higher premiums.
Colgrove said that he believes that a compromise can be met.
“I don’t think that it has to be socialized or for-profit,” he said of U.S. health care. “There is a way to get everyone what they need.”
Overall, Colgrove said that he supports the ACA, but that there are things within it that should be fixed.
“It certainly feels like throwing the baby out with the bath water to just go out to a broken system that we had before instead of just trying to fix what we have now,” he said.
LeDante Walker, of Spa Area Independent Living Services, said the AHCA threatens to take away services that allow him to participate in life.
“This plan puts me at risk of being put in the nursing home,” Walker said.
While Walker spoke of health care on a personal level, Willie Wade Jr., of Difference Makers, spoke on the topic in a much broader sense. Wade said that, according to 2014’s Levi Community Health Assessment, some of the most pressing concerns in Garland County are mental health, obesity and teen pregnancy.
Wade said that the House bill ignores such pressing issues.
“We have to make our concerns known,” he told the audience.
Jackie Harris, also of SAILS, made a pointed remark about Westerman in her address. She said that she had had a conversation with the representative in Washington, where she expressed concerns that she would not be able to afford private health care due to working a small business. Harris said that Westerman told her that maybe she should “quit.”
Ryan Saylor, Westerman’s communications director, rebutted Harris’ statement following the rally. He told The Sentinel-Record that the notion that Westerman said such a thing to Harris was “false.”
Saylor also rebutted Shamel, who said at the rally that the Democratic Party of Garland County has “repeatedly asked Congressman Westerman to hold an open town hall with his constituents” without his consent to the request. She also pointed out that she was not happy with party members being turned away from his “Biscuits With Bruce” event in Hot Springs Village on May 11.
Saylor explained that “Biscuits With Bruce” was a campaign event, and that the Democrats could have contacted his office and requested a meeting time or information about his next public event. In reference to her claim regarding town halls, Saylor specifically cited an April event in Hot Springs Village that was open to the public, and said that members of the party even attended the event.
“He’s happy to hear those concerns, and he appreciates their willingness to speak to them,” he said. “If they’re going to be accurate and factual, they have to explain the fact that they have attended his town halls; they have met with him one-on-one in his office. This idea that they have not had opportunities to meet with him, that they have been blocked out — that is an unfair categorization.”
Following the rally, party members made their way to Westerman’s office with signs to protest. Fliers were also handed out at the rally, which urged participants to call Westerman in an effort to keep him from taking further steps away from the ACA.
Shamel told the Democrats that their discussion surrounding the House bill came down to how everyone present there believed that health care is an individual right for all Americans.
“Health care is something that everyone is gonna use,” Colgrove told The Sentinel-Record. “When you get sick, you’re going to receive health care, you’re going to be part of the system. I believe everyone has to have a stake in this, whether that be taxes, be a deductible. I think that the money’s there; it’s just a matter of where it’s going to come from.”
Shamel told the audience that the conversation surrounding health care comes down to looking out for one’s fellow man.
“We care about the most vulnerable,” Shamel said. “We care about people.”